Don Juan - Strauss

Symphony No 2 The Age of Anxiety - Bernstein

Petrushka (1947 version) - Stravinsky

The most impressive thing about Bernstein's The Age of Anxiety is the fact that an artist of the stature of MarcAndre Hamelin should think it worthwhile learning the busy solo piano part. We know from his past appearances that this Canadian pianist boasts an exceptional technique and unusual sensitivity, and he is one of the few pianists who can create an individual sound from the piano. But why are he and Sitkovetsky expending their talents on the banalities of Bernstein?

This 40-minute symphony is the most ambitious Bernstein piece to have been played here, but the more ambitious the aim, the greater the failure. The title, which comes from W.H. Auden, seems to be an attempt to lend the work a depth and significance not inherent in the music itself.

The seriousness and attention to detail in Sitkovetsky's approach to the Strauss and Stravinsky pieces compensated for a certain reserve. A fine oboe solo in the Strauss, accompanied by a wonderfully delicate cushion of sound from the strings, provided a moment of magic, and the orchestra's wind section was on particularly good form throughout the evening.

Sitkovetsky's choice of the weak concert ending of the Stravinsky, however, was a disappointment. Stravinsky himself said that it is obvious to any perceptive musician that the best pages in Petrushka are the last - which admittedly makes one wonder why he wrote the concert ending in the first place.